Cutting edge nutrition to enhance your skin care regime!

By Vanessa Coyne

Your skin is a remarkable barometer of your body’s health and is therefore affected by how well you are internally. So getting your body’s systems working optimally is crucial to addressing skin problems. Diet is also key – eating foods which nourish your body while limiting those which are toxic or contribute no nutritional value is important.

Skin Nutrition

The health of your skin depends on 3 basic elements: 
1.    The quality of nutrients taken in from your diet
2.    How well these nutrients are digested and absorbed
3.    The effectiveness of the bodies waste removal

 

Your skin is your body’s largest organ and barrier from the outside world. When your skin is constantly exposed to pollutants and UV damaging rays over an extended period of time, it becomes more vulnerable to free radical damage.  Excessive free radical exposure through a toxic diet and environmental pollutants harm the skin by damaging DNA and cell membranes that keep the skin plump and firm.

Over time, skin cells can no longer perform their normal functions such as healthy cell turnover, processing nutrients and eliminating waste. This can trigger irritation, inflammation and destroy collagen/elastin resulting in thin, wrinkled and blotchy skin.

Along with a healthy lifestyle, cleansing programs are great to help “clear” those key filters in the body to promote vitality and overall wellbeing

It is important to nourish and balance each cell in the body with proper nutrients and water to help skin look and feel great. The human body has an innate intelligence; give the body what it needs (not what it desires), and the body will take care of all aspects of its health. The skin is part of the body, and it has many functions. It is the largest organ of the body. It serves as a protective cover, helps to regulate the body’s temperature, defends the body against foreign invaders (through the immune system), and helps the body’s detoxification process. It is also called “the third kidney.” If the kidney’s elimination pathways are backed up, toxins will eliminate through the skin. It is important to examine and incorporate the nutritional foundations.

Beautiful skin on the outside begins with good health on the inside. Skin will suffer dearly from the damage you cause on the inside if you don’t get enough sleep, smoke, drink too much alcohol, do not eat properly, and do not take nutritional supplements. The condition of skin is a direct reflection of our health; what is going on inside the body will be reflected on the outside of the body. Your lifestyle and the kind of dietary nutrients you consume have a big impact on the appearance of our skin. It is important to take care of the body the way nature intends. The body will take care of the rest: a healthy body, more energy and beautiful complexion.

With a fast paced lifestyle, a good diet may get overlooked. It may seem overwhelming to make a diet plan and stick to it. It is easier to find the most convenient foods to prepare. In a pinch, it is easier to take the magic pill, be it fast food, sodas, coffee or alcohol to feed your hunger or boost your energy. But this kind of diet will rob vital energy and deplete overall health. Health and skin care need a plan that will work for the duration of a lifetime. The eating habits you put in place today will yield either good or challenged health and skin quality for the rest of your lifespan.

Vanessa Top tips for glowing healthy skin at any age! 
1. Drink more water and eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Sounds obvious, but it can make a real difference.
2. Limit your intake of sugary foods, refined carbohydrates (white bread etc) and anything fried.
3. Eat more antioxidant-rich foods such as carrots, pumpkin, watercress, berries, broccoli, fish and seafood. 
4. Boost your intake of essential fats that help to keep your skin soft and supple – so eat a handful of unsalted nuts and seeds each day and have oily fish a few times a week.
5. If you experience other health issues – particularly with digestion or hormone balance – these can manifest in skin problems, so take steps to find out more and address these

Beautiful skin lifestyle eating plan!
Due to the diverse nature of skin disorders and the many different underlying causes, it is impossible to give blanket guidelines which will cover all situations. So below are some guiding principles for an optimum diet. 

We all know that diet is essential to staying young and one of the key factors in environmental ageing. Sugar hastens the degradation of elastin and collagen, In other words, it actively ages you.

The key to anti-ageing is eating a low glycaemic index (a ranking system for carbohydrates based on their effect on blood glucose levels) and a high intake of antioxidants.

Aim for a daily diet that includes:

• Pure water – drink six to eight glasses every day.
• Colourful fruit & vegetables – five servings that include red/orange/yellow vegetables and fruits, purple foods, green foods, ‘seed’ foods such as peas or broccoli, onions, leeks and garlic.
• Fresh seeds – a tablespoon a day, for example pumpkin, sunflower, sesame or ground hemp/linseed.
• Cold-pressed seed oils - a tablespoon, for example with salads, drizzled over vegetables
• Vegetable sources of protein – enjoy foods such as soya, beans, lentils and quinoa
• Fibre-rich foods – rather than white refined foods, enjoy whole grains, root vegetables, lentils and beans.
• Natural yoghurt – choose low fat, live and organic

Limit your intake of:

• Alcohol – or avoid it completely.
• Tea and coffee – no more than 2 cups per day.
• Red meat – no more than three times per week. Have fish, organic chicken, game or vegetable sources of protein instead.
• Cheese and milk – try using dairy alternatives such as soya.
• Grain foods (those made from wheat, oats, rye etc) – have no more than two portions daily. 

Exclude:

• Sugar – including sugary foods and drinks such as sweets, jams, many cereals, biscuits, cakes and desserts.
• Refined carbohydrates – such as bread, biscuits, cakes, pastries, pastas and any foods containing white flour.
• Chemicals added to food, which includes many canned and most preserved or processed foods.
• Fried and fatty foods – chips, crisps, cream, ice cream etc.
• Trans and hydrogenated fats found in many processed foods and margarines.
• Smoking.

Using these guidelines, a day’s meals may look like this:

Breakfast: natural, live yoghurt with chopped fresh fruits and a handful of pumpkin seeds.
OR a bowl of organic rolled oats with berries or grated apple and some fresh natural plain yogurt. 

Lunch: A large vegetable salad with tinned salmon, tomato, celery and spring onion, with olive oil and lemon juice. You can also alternate with chicken breast or tuna or even some chickpeas and quinoa.
OR a big rice salad with many types of fresh vegetables, cottage cheese, pumpkin seeds, olive oil, lemon juice and freshly ground pepper.

Dinner: a hot meal of grilled fresh fish, chicken or lean meat or a vegetarian alternative made from beans, or quinoa.. Serve with a large helping of freshly steamed or lightly stir-fried vegetables. You can ‘steam-fry’ vegetables by using just the tiniest drop of oil and adding a couple of tablespoons of water, to, in effect, steam them.

Snacks: fresh fruit, raw nuts (eg almonds, hazelnuts or Brazils), pumpkin and sunflower seeds, raw vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, celery and cucumber.

Drinks: at least six glasses of water, herbal and fruit teas (beware of artificially flavoured or sweetened ones), diluted fresh fruit and vegetable juices, occasional smoothies, freshly made with fruits/vegetables. 

Essential nutrients for healthy skin
Of all the news coming from the beauty community, the loudest buzz may be about the power of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to give skina more radiant, healthy, and, yes, youthful glow. 

The excitement is focused not only on creams and lotions you put on your skin but what you put into your body as well. Health experts say that vitamins and minerals in all forms play an integral role in a healthy complexion, whether the source is food, supplements, or even a jar of cream.

Supplements
To keep your skin super healthy I recommend you take: 

• Spirulina which is rich in Vit K, A, and carotene
• Omega 3
• ALA
• DMAE

Here’s why:

Vitamins Good for Skin Nutrition

Spirulina - Marine Algae, the latest in nutraceutical skin care!

Spirulina, the wonder nutrient for the skin.

It not only contains just about every skin nutrient you need, but it cleanses and purifies the body, It naturally detoxes daily! “Spirulina platensis…has an antioxidant system which prevents the harmful action of radicals in the dermis and epidermis” Dr Ivonne Almiral, Havana University

Its outstanding nutritional profile also includes the essential fatty acids, GLA fatty acid, lipids, the nucleic acids (RNA and DNA), B complex, vitamin E and phytochemicals, such as carotenoids, chlorophyll (blood purifier), and phycocyanin (a blue pigment), which is a pigment that is known to inhibit cancer.

Vitamins A, K, and B complex can all help improve skin health. Here's how:

Vitamin A. If your vitamin A levels are up to snuff from the foods you eat, adding more probably won't do much more for your skin. That said, if those levels drop even a little below normal, you're likely to see some skin-related symptoms, including a dry, flaky complexion. That's because vitamin A is necessary for the maintenance and repair of skin tissue. Without it, you'll notice the difference. Fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamin A.

Vitamin B Complex. When it comes to skin, the single most important B vitamin is biotin, a nutrient that forms the basis of skin, nail, and hair cells. Without adequate amounts, you may end up with dermatitis (an itchy, scaly skin reaction) or sometimes even hair loss. Even a mild deficiency causes symptoms.

Most people get enough biotin without even trying. It's found in many foods including bananas, eggs, oatmeal, and rice, plus your body also makes some biotin on its own.

Vitamin K. As the nutrient responsible for helping blood clot, Vitamin K won't do much for your skin from the inside. But studies presented to the American Academy of Dermatology in 2003 showed that topical vitamin K works well to reduce circles under the eye as well as bruises. In research published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology in 2002, doctors from the University of Miami School of Medicine found that skin treatments with vitamin K cream after laser surgery significantly reduced bruising.
 

Spirulina provides you with:

• polysacharides
• chlorophyll blood purifier
• phycocyanin (blue pigment - inhibits cancer)
• iron (iron in Spirulina is more easily absorbed than that found in iron supplements)
• magnesium
• selenium
• potassium
• calcium
• chromium
• copper
• manganese
• phosphorus
• sodium
• zinc
• vegetable protein
• provitamin A
• B complex vitamins (the highest source os B12)
• beta carotene (10 times more concentrated than in carrots)
• carotenoids
• essential fatty acids (GLA)
• carbohydrates
• enzymes
• sulfolipids
• glycolipids